What are the best hatcheries?

[Farmgirl283420]

Hello! I’m wondering what some good hatcheries are! I’ve gotten 10 of my chickens from tractor supply and they all lived. Since hatcheries have so many different breeds I was thinking of getting some chicks from there. So which hatcheries have you had good experiences with and which have you not? Or should I just stick with getting chicks from tractor supply since so far the chicks I’ve got from there have done well?

 

[Sally PB]

1) Are you looking for a particular breed? Not all hatcheries have all breeds.

2) You are probably picking up chicks from TSC in person, and however many you want. Unless you have a nearby hatchery, they will be shipping the chicks to you. Some have minimum numbers for ordering. That number might be more than you want to buy.

3) Some hatcheries have "premium" birds, ie, rare, or show quality. They definitely charge more!

4) What you were really asking: I ordered my chicks last year from Mt. Healthy. If I order chicks again, it will be from Mt. Healthy. I got the breed I wanted, and the number of chicks I had room for. I did have to pay a "small order" fee of $30 because I only wanted 4 chicks. They included an extra, all were healthy, and I got them in the mail the day after they shipped.

 

[Sally PB]

Mt Healthy had the friendliest chicks, the fastest shipping, and unbelievable customer service.

As I said, if I order chicks again, it will be from Mt. Healthy.

When choosing a hatchery look for ones nearest to you. That often means a much shorter journey and less initial dead loss.

This is very important. You want the chicks to get to you as quickly as possible.

 

[Iluveggers]

Agree w @Sally PB !

I have had good luck w Ideal, McMurray, and Mt Healthy. Mt Healthy had the friendliest chicks, the fastest shipping, and unbelievable customer service. The others were good as well, but I think they were above & beyond!

 

[friednotscrambled]

Gotta say I've been super impressed with my Cackle Hatchery birds.

 

[NagemTX]

I love Cackle! I'm in south Texas and order from them. Have not had what I consider a bad batch. I like there transparency about breed issues as well.

 

[Cheems]

I would highly warn against Hoovers, at least with my experience with them

I got my chicks in and more than half of them were dead and the rest dying, I was just about to make a post about it but I figured couldn’t hurt to say this here too

they moved what day they would ship the chicks twice by a full week, this caused me massive issues, and then when they did ship them, they included no heat, a tiny box with only a small amount of insulation, then 9/15 arrived dead, the rest incredibly weak

Really horrific experience opening that box and I’ve never had any issues or dead chicks with other hatcheries I’ve used, some better ones are cackle hatchery and I used to buy from purely poultry before the owner died

 

[21hens-incharge]

When choosing a hatchery look for ones nearest to you. That often means a much shorter journey and less initial dead loss.

I am lucky in that there are at least 8 feed stores within 30 minutes of me. Most will do special orders as well. For me and my flock that has been the best option....I get the breeds I want, I don't have to be the one to open a box of dead chicks and I don't have to pay shipping.

 

[MamaPoult]

We LOVE polaris poultry, such an awesome place! Great experiences

 

[SandyRiverChick]

I have the same thought as you that if I'm doing good with one place, I stick with it. That said you might have gotten lucky with TSC and you'll read many, many unhappy threads of TSC experiences on here. But then also people who got lucky, it's a toss up, no place is perfect. I am not a fan of TSC or Hoovers (TSC sources only Hoovers.) I have a friend who works there and that story is just way to long.... And I can be wrong, this is just my local TSC, it's not good. SO I go to a family owned feed store much farther away than TSC where they source Privett and Jenks. I've never had a bad experience to date, many, many years. I've also ordered from Jenks and Ideal, got a cockerel when I ordered a started Pullet, and one with a respiratory infection but I still don't consider them bad.